The Giants are hosting the Nationals and we talk about San Francisco’s recent hitting woes and Christian Arroyo’s immediate future with John Shea from the San Francisco Chronicle. Also, The Sports Virus weighs in with a commentary on the Hunter Strickland/Bryce Harper brawl.

Photos courtesy of The Associated Press and Bleacher Report

Shea tells The Sports Virus that slumping Christian Arroyo shouldn’t be sent down to AAA Sacramento: “…Play him at one position regardless. If (Brandon) Crawford is off a day don’t put him at short, if (Joe) Panik is off a day don’t put him at second, keep him at third. Let him figure it out. Let him grind over the next few weeks. He’s 0 for 21 (heading into Monday’s opener with the Nationals), that’s awful, but he’s not going to be 0 for 42, he’s too good… He’s dealing with the mental part of this. He’s got the physical capabilities. He’s a ballplayer. He can help you when he’s not hitting.”

The Sports Virus backs Buster Posey’s decision not to join the brawl between Hunter Strickland and Bryce Harper: “…I actually think it was really smart on his part. Some people think maybe he didn’t support his teammate there, but as soon as that pitch was thrown and it hit Harper you could tell that Posey was not in favor of this drilling. He just stood there very disappointed in a way, just his posture, it wasn’t like he was going to go out and tackle Harper and get involved in this because he didn’t approve of it. He didn’t want a baserunner in that situation in a 2-0 game. It seemed like just a personal vendetta, Strickland against Harper…I don’t blame Posey at all.”

Welcome to the INSIDE CHINA BASIN Giants Podcast

Today we hear from Nationals Manager Dusty Baker, who also managed the Giants from 1993-2002. The Sports Virus Reporter Ryan Leong also joins us from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The Sports Virus asked Baker if he thinks Barry Bonds will get in the Hall of Fame some day:

… “I hope so. He certainly deserves it…I think Jeff Kent should be in. He’s not getting much consideration at all. If it’s going by numbers, then his numbers are amongst the top second basemen of all time. If it’s going on popularity, then it shouldn’t be a popularity contest. I think Barry and Jeff should both be in.”

Baker on Daniel Murphy’s season:

… “He should be the MVP at this point. He’s had one of the best seasons I’ve ever seen (and) I’ve seen some good ones. Every time you think he’s going to slow down, he speeds back up again. This guy comes to play, he comes to play every day. He has a great idea of what he’s doing on the bases, in the field and at the plate especially. This guy’s a student. I see him over here studying all the time and he has a heck of an idea of what he’s looking for.”

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…“We all have a responsibility and that’s to come out here and perform to the best of our ability, for ourselves, our teammates, our ownership and all of these great fans that are coming out here. That’s not going to stop and that’s my job to make sure it doesn’t stop and to keep guys upbeat and the moral good. It’s easy to like your players when they’re going well, but it’s when they are going through such difficult times like we’re going through right now, that’s when they need all of us…We’ll come out of this. Tough times don’t last forever, but tough people do.”***Bruce Bochy Listen >

Will Barry Bonds will get in the Hall of Fame some day?:… “I hope so. He certainly deserves it…I think Jeff Kent should be in. He’s not getting much consideration at all. If it’s going by numbers, then his numbers are amongst the top second basemen of all time. If it’s going on popularity, then it shouldn’t be a popularity contest. I think Barry and Jeff should both be in.”***Dusty Baker Listen >